Celebrity Auctions
I like to be surrounded by splendid things. I want to lead the Victorian life, surrounded by exquisite clutter,’ rockstar Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen, is quoted as saying. From the moment he acquired his home, Garden Lodge, in London's Kensington, he transformed it into a dazzling temple of arts and antiques connoisseurship that lasted over a decade, from 1980 until his untimely death in 1991. For Mercury, a trained artist, it was a place to relax with friends and he filled it with the paintings, antiques, decorative objects and oriental textiles that he adored. Many of these items were purchased at auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's, and a number of specialists remember him coming in for pre-sale viewings.
At the heart of the collection was Mercury's private refuge, the Japanese room, tours to Japan, as well as frequent personal trips to stock up on traditional and contemporary clothing and art.
